Joseph Guichard Duverney or Joseph-Guichard Du Verney (; 5 August 1648 – 10 September 1730) was a French
anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
known for his work in comparative anatomy and for his treatise on the ear. The fracture of the iliac wing of the pelvis is sometimes called the Duverney fracture.
Biography
Du Verney was a native of
Feurs in the province of
Forez
Forez (; ) is a Provinces of France, former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire (department), Loire ''département in France, département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''dépa ...
. His father Jacques Duverny was a doctor in the small community Feurs. His mother was born Antoinette Pittre. His two other older brothers studied medicine and he too studied at the University of
Avignon
Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
, where in
1667 he obtained his medical degree. Shortly afterwards, he relocated to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
where he was active in the circle of Abbé
Pierre Michon Bourdelot where he came into contact with
Claude Perrault. He became known for his assiduous anatomical dissections apart from dealing with patients. In 1676 he became the anatomist at the
Royal Academy of Sciences to replace
Louis Gayant (died 1673) and
Jean Pecquet (died 1674). He began to dissect and compare a wide range of animals including fish with
Philippe de La Hire. He also received animals from the royal menagerie for dissections, and in 1681 he dissected an elephant from the court of
King Louis XIV. In 1682 he became a demonstrator of anatomy at the
Jardin du Roi
The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...
. In
1676 he became a member of the ''
Académie des sciences''. He is considered by many to be the founder of scientific
otology.
Alongside
Claude Perrault (1613-1688) and
Jean Pecquet (1622-1674), he was influential in the renewal of anatomical studies. Some of his students included
Pierre Dionis (1643-1718),
Jacques-Bénigne Winslow (1669-1760),
Jean-Baptiste Sénac (1693-1770) and
François-Joseph Hunauld (1701-1742). Towards the end of his life he was working on hearing and the ear with Jacques Bénigne Winslow. He died from heart complications. Several works were published posthumously. He willed his anatomical specimens to the Royal Academy but this was challenged by Pierre Chirac (1648–1732), supervisor at the Jardin who said the specimens belonged to the King.
Contributions to science
Duverney published one of the earliest comprehensive works on
otology (Paris,
1683): ''Traité de l'organe de l'ouie, contenant la structure, les usages et les maladies de toutes les parties de l'oreille'' (Treatise on the organ of hearing, containing the structure, function, and diseases of all parts of the ear). In the book he discusses the
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
,
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
and
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
s associated with the
ear.
Duverney's theory of hearing (which he conceived with the help of
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
Edme Mariotte) was fundamentally similar to what
physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...
(1821–1894) later proposed in the mid-19th century, except that he thought that high
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...
would resonate near the apex of the
cochlea
The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus (cochlea), modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the organ of Cort ...
, and low frequencies near the base (
Domenico Cotugno
Domenico Felice Antonio Cotugno (January 29, 1736 – October 6, 1822) was an Italian people, Italian physician.
Biography
Born at Ruvo di Puglia (Province of Bari, Apulia) into a family of humble means, Cotugno underwent physical and economic ...
had to turn this around in
1760).
In
1683, Duverney identified a
temporal bone tumor, which is believed to be the earliest description of
cholesteatoma. He realized the importance of the
Eustachian tube and its role in adjusting air pressure in the
tympanic cavity. However, he believed that the Eustachian tube was always open, acting as a vent to the air, when the
eardrum moves in and out.
Duverney's clinical work led to the posthumous publication of: ''Maladies des os'' ("Diseases of the bones"), a book containing a description of the eponymous "
Duverney fracture" and the first full description of
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk.
It is the most common reason f ...
.
Selection of works
*
Myologie complete en couleur et grandeur naturelle, composée de l'Essai et de la Suite de l'Essai d'anatomie en tableaux imprimés' (1746)
*
Anatomie de la tête, en tableaux imprimés qui représentent au naturel le cerveau sous différentes coupes, la distribution des vaisseaux dans toutes les parties de la tête, les organes des sens et une partie de la névrologie, d'après les pièces disséquées et préparées par M. Duverney, en 8 grandes planches dessinées, peintes, gravées et imprimées en couleur et grandeur naturelle, par le sieur Gautier' (1748) (''Anatomy of the head'')
*
Abrégé d'anatomie, accommodé aux arts de peinture et de sculpture et mis dans un ordre nouveau dont la méthode est très facile et débarrassée de toutes les difficultés et les choses inutiles, qui ont toujours été un grand obstacle aux peintres […]' (1765) (Short treatise of anatomy for painters and sculptors. With
Roger de Piles
Roger de Piles (7 October 1635 – 5 April 1709) was a French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat.
Life
Born in Clamecy, Nievre, Clamecy, Roger de Piles studied philosophy and theology, and devoted himself to painting.
In 1662 he became ...
and
François Tortebat)
Notes
Further reading
* Gascoigne, Robert Mortimer. ''A chronology of the history of science, 1450-1900''. New York, Garland, 1987,
"Guichard Joseph Duverney (1648-1730), first French otologist in the 17th century" NCBI, U.S. National Library of Medicine
*
Traité des maladies des os (1751)
*
Traité de l'organe de l'ouïe (1731)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duverney, Guichard Joseph
1648 births
1730 deaths
People from Feurs
French anatomists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences